Mt. Gelmir was located in the western reaches of the Altus Plateau.
Between the low-lying lake region and the plateau stood an immense cliff nearly a thousand meters tall. The terrain rose so abruptly that the transition was almost absurd. The cliffs blocked moisture carried inland from the lakes and ocean, reducing rainfall and giving rise to the vast golden grasslands above.
To reach Altus, travelers had to scale this natural barrier. Under ordinary circumstances, people would probably have built a winding mountain road along the cliffs.
But the Lands Between had other ideas.
Its inhabitants had decided to construct an enormous elevator capable of ascending and descending a thousand meters vertically. Natural barriers? Who gave a damn about those? They'd simply build right over them!
The technological capabilities of the Lands Between had always been something of a mystery. Its civilization appeared positively medieval, yet its people were capable of constructing enormous engineering marvels.
The Grand Lift of Dectus was as spacious as a cathedral and built almost entirely from heavy stone. Its own weight must have been astronomical, yet it regularly transported hundreds of soldiers, horses, and enormous quantities of military supplies up and down the cliffs. Despite centuries of exposure to wind and rain, the mechanism continued to operate perfectly.
Such a feat of engineering would probably send Earth's civil engineers into a collective nervous breakdown. In the end, they'd have no choice but to throw up their hands, curse a little, and declare that magic was outside their jurisdiction. Better leave this one to Hogwarts.
Of course, the wizards of Hogwarts would probably scratch their heads at the sight of the Grand Lift, too. They studied magic, not miracles. Who knew how much manpower and how many resources would be required to construct something of this magnitude?
It was easy to imagine just how prosperous the Golden Dynasty must have been at its height. It had been capable of mobilizing enough labor to construct such an enormous military transportation hub, all for the purpose of shortening marching times and extending the royal capital's influence.
No trip to the Lands Between was complete without riding the Grand Lift of Dectus. It was practically a rite of passage for any self-respecting Tarnished.
Since their expedition was taking them to Altus anyway, Skyl and his companions unanimously decided to check this engineering marvel off their sightseeing list.
Unfortunately, riding the Grand Lift required a ticket, or rather, a special medallion that served as a pass.
Skyl didn't have one.
Naturally, he decided to sneak aboard.
He began by examining the lift's access-control system. The two enormous Tree Sentinel statues facing each other were actually its sensors, as well as the mechanisms responsible for activating the elevator.
"There's always a way around a problem."
He cast an Animation Charm on the statues.
The two stone figures slowly lowered their heads, shaking clouds of dust from their bodies. The grinding of their joints sounded like thunder, and when they spoke, their voices echoed through the enormous chamber, making everyone's ears ring.
The statue on the left declared, "Great Wizard Skyl, you have awakened us from a thousand years of silence. My heart overflows with gratitude!"
The statue on the right groaned, "Ah, it's too noisy. Thoughts... How terrifying. I don't like thinking. Please, turn me back into stone..."
Skyl raised his head and shouted, "I want to take the elevator up to the plateau. Go ahead and start it!"
The statue on the left nodded and replied politely, "Please present your medallion."
The statue on the right muttered, "Ah, terrifying. Absolutely terrifying. I've only been alive for three seconds, and I already want to die."
Skyl maintained his smile.
"Considering that I'm the one who gave you consciousness, how about making an exception?"
Unfortunately, the statues proved utterly ungrateful. They refused to show their own creator even the slightest consideration.
"No medallion, no elevator."
"Only those with a medallion may pass. Marika above, does he seriously not know that? Is he some kind of tourist?"
Skyl's expression darkened.
Even more infuriating was Doniel, who actually nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Now that's what I call dedication to duty! A civilized society depends on people who refuse to bow to authority!"
Thops rubbed his bald head.
"Perhaps we should look for the medallion first?"
Standing quietly behind the others, Melina opened her shoulder bag.
Millicent couldn't help giggling at Skyl's predicament. However, the moment he turned toward her, she immediately straightened her expression, demonstrating that she stood firmly beside the great Wizard Skyl and shared his every grievance.
"Go ahead and laugh if you want."
"Oh, Skyl, it was only funny when you were getting embarrassed just now. At this point, all I want is to join you in condemning those two ungrateful piles of rubble."
Millicent spoke with complete sincerity.
Whatever ridiculous nonsense Skyl decided to get up to, she would support him wholeheartedly.
Even if he announced that he wanted to dive to the bottom of the ocean to catch jellyfish, Millicent would cheerfully set about preparing the nets.
Behind them, Melina silently raised the Dectus Medallion.
The statue on the left exclaimed joyfully, "I see the medallion! Identity confirmed! The Grand Lift of Dectus shall now activate for the great Wizard Skyl!"
The statue on the right sank further into despair.
"I can't even kill myself. I'm made of stone. Oh, no. I'm trapped here forever, opening an elevator for other people. I have no freedom whatsoever!"
The two absurd statues rotated their bodies, activating the mechanisms connected beneath them.
The enormous elevator slowly began to rise.
Melina put away the medallion, having resolved the entire problem without saying a word.
Faced with everyone's astonished looks, she offered a characteristically brief explanation.
"I collected the medallion last year."
Skyl looked a little embarrassed, but he quickly recovered and offered her a beaming smile.
"Melina, you're so dependable! What would I ever do without you?"
Such playful remarks came naturally to him.
Ordinarily, Melina would respond with a blink or perhaps a faint blush. Her reactions were generally limited to the subtlest changes in expression.
This time, she blinked as usual, then returned his smile.
For a moment, there seemed to be an unspoken understanding between them, as though words were entirely unnecessary.
But once Skyl turned away, her smile faded, disappearing like a wisp of smoke carried off by the wind.
Meanwhile, the statues continued talking at the top of their lungs.
One was an incorrigible chatterbox, while the other was a lunatic drowning in despair.
Together, they produced enough noise to rival an aircraft taking off.
Skyl soon reached the limits of his patience. With a casual wave of his hand, he withdrew the consciousness he had bestowed upon them.
As death approached, the statue on the left burst into hearty laughter.
"Thank you, Wizard Skyl! You've finally given me the opportunity to speak my mind! I've been holding so many things back for countless years!"
The statue on the right, however, began screaming.
"No! No, no, no! I don't want to die! I don't want to die anymore!"
Finally, both statues fell silent.
They returned to being cold, lifeless, inorganic objects, nothing more than motionless stone sculptures.
...
At the top of the Grand Lift of Dectus, on the Altus Plateau, a young woman from Volcano Manor named Rya was waiting patiently.
It was an autumn afternoon, and the plateau was steeped in the colors of the season. The warm sunlight made her increasingly drowsy, but she forced her eyes to remain open, constantly watching for any sign of movement from the lift.
At last, she heard the rumbling grind of its machinery.
"The Tarnished champion has arrived!"
Rya immediately perked up.
She had already been waiting for several days.
Of course, she wasn't waiting for Skyl.
She was expecting a female Tarnished, a hero in her eyes, with whom she had arranged to meet at the lift. Rya intended to escort her champion to Volcano Manor.
Speaking of Volcano Manor, it was an ancient place of judgment nestled deep within Mt. Gelmir, ruled by the Shardbearer Rykard. It had once served as an execution ground for the Golden Dynasty.
During the Shattering, the various demigods had fought one another for fragments of the Elden Ring.
Rykard believed the Greater Will was treating them like a pack of stray dogs, tossing a few bones onto the ground and watching them fight over the scraps.
Unable to tolerate such humiliation, he openly rebelled against the Golden Order. He even allowed the ancient serpent god dwelling within the volcano to devour him, hoping to obtain the power of immortality.
Unfortunately, the ambitious Rykard ultimately failed to withstand the corruption of the great serpent's will.
He degenerated into an insatiable monster.
Although he continued to proclaim his opposition to the Golden Order, his rebellion had become little more than a slogan used to lure mighty champions into his lair and turn them into food.
What had originally been a gathering place for heroes united by a common cause had become a deadly bait-and-switch operation.
Rya knew nothing about any of this.
She was merely following orders and recruiting heroes.
Nevertheless, from a purely practical standpoint, she had become an unwitting accomplice to fraud.
It wasn't as though she had never questioned the situation.
Why did Volcano Manor continue recruiting rebellious heroes when the Erdtree itself had already fallen into decline?
And why had none of the champions she had previously recruited ever appeared again?
Rya sincerely hoped that everyone she had met along the way was doing well and had found their own happiness.
The arched roof of the Grand Lift was now slowly rising above the edge of the cliff.
She straightened her clothes, trying to make herself appear a little more presentable, then eagerly looked ahead.
...
The elevator took nearly half an hour to ascend a thousand meters.
As it passed through the mist surrounding the mountainside, an immense expanse of golden grassland suddenly opened up before their eyes.
"Well, folks, welcome to the Altus Plateau! Would you look at that view!"
Skyl stood on the enormous elevator, gazing out in every direction.
A gentle breeze swept across the plateau, and only a few wisps of cloud drifted through the sky. It was a beautiful, sunny day.
"How about a group photo?"
He pulled out his smartphone and arranged everyone in a line.
While checking the camera's display, Skyl suddenly noticed a young woman dressed in green standing near the edge of the frame.
That had to be Rya from Volcano Manor.
She was staring at the group of tourists, looking utterly bewildered.
"Hey, miss! Would you like to join us for a souvenir photo?"
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